Marks & Spencer clothing and beauty director will leave to become White Stuff CEO
Jo Jenkins, who had joined Marks and Spencer in 2013, started her new role earlier this month
Marks & Spencer has been hit by the departure of a senior member of its troubled clothing division, just weeks after starting a new role at the retailer. The news comes weeks ahead of the critical Christmas trading period.
Jo Jenkins, appointed as the firm’s director of clothing and beauty in May, will leave M&S to become Chief Executive of White Stuff.
An M&S spokesman said: “We’re delighted for Jo – she’s been a real talent here at M&S, which is reflected in the progress she has made both professionally and for the business.
“Becoming CEO at a company like White Stuff is a natural next step for her. We wish her all the very best with her new role.”
However, her departure will be a blow for chief executive Steve Rowe, who has made turning around the ailing womenswear division one of his top priorities.
Earlier this year he drafted in former Halfords chief executive Jill McDonald as managing director of clothing, home and beauty to lead the turnaround.
In July the high street giant said like-for-like sales fell 1.2 % in its clothing and home division, although Mr Rowe said the unit was moving in the “right direction” as the performance marked an improvement on the 5.9 % tumble seen in the previous three months.
Jenkins joined M&S as its director of womenswear, lingerie and beauty in 2013. After being appointed to the job of director of clothing and beauty in May, she started her new role earlier this month. M&S said Ms Jenkins is likely to stay in her current role for a couple more months.
VDMA: Regina Brückner New Chairperson of Textile Machinery Association
Regina Brückner, Managing Associate of Brückner Trockentechnik, is the new chairperson of the VDMA Textile Machinery Association. The businesswoman from Leonberg was elected at the members’ meeting of the Association in Berlin. The new executive board is completed with Ms. Verena Thies, Thies Textilmaschinen, and Mr. Fritz P. Mayer, Karl Mayer Textilmaschinenfabrik, who were elected as vice chairpersons.
After her election, Regina Brückner stated: „I am pleased to have Ms. Thies and Mr. Mayer by my side, the two chairpersons who complement each other very well. Mr. Mayer is an entrepreneurial personality with decades of experience which he is meanwhile bringing in as the president of CEMATEX, the European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers. Thies assumed responsibility in the family company early on and has been working for the traditional company Thies in international textile machinery business since 2009.”
The new executive board for the legislative period until 2021 is composed of:
Regina Brückner (Chairperson), Brückner Trockentechnik
Verena Thies (Vice Chairperson), Thies
Fritz P. Mayer (Vice Chairman), Karl Mayer Textilmaschinenfabrik
Johann Phillip Dilo, Oskar Dilo Maschinenfabrik
Peter D. Dornier, Lindauer Dornier
Arno Gärtner, Karl Mayer Textilmaschinenfabrik
Roland Hampel, A. Monforts Textilmaschinen
Dr. Janpeter Horn, Herzog
Markus Kleindorp, Memminger-Iro
Martin Küppers, Saurer Schlafhorst
Georg Stausberg, Oerlikon Textile
Andreas Lukas, Andritz Küsters
Benjamin Mayer, Mayer & Cie.
Eric Schöller, Groz-Beckert
Heinrich Trützschler, Trützschler